Bad Apples
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Sanity Break #1
The city of Paris has a very unlikely doppelganger: Tianducheng, a Chinese city that has replicated its buildings and even iconic locations, including the Eiffel Tower (above). has a collection of uncanny side-by-side images captured by French photographer Francois Prost.
Headlines that matter
EARTHQUAKE TRIGGERS PANIC IN NCR An earthquake of magnitude 4.2 hit Rajasthan's Alwar at 11:46 pm last night, and the tremors were felt in Delhi-NCR. Since April, Delhi-NCR has recorded more than 20 quakes of low and medium intensity. : > “The Delhi-NCR region is very peculiar with regard to seismic activities. It has several faultlines that generate earthquakes, > but it also feels the impact of quakes that are epicentred as far as the Hindukush mountains in Afghanistan and even in Nepal.” Point to note: A member of the splainer team lives in Alwar, and didn’t even realise there was an earthquake—while the other in Delhi immediately messaged: “My bed is shaking!” Lol! FARMER PROTESTS: A QUICK UPDATE * The Supreme Court it would not “interfere with the protest” and that “at this stage the farmers’ protest should be allowed to continue without impediment”. * OTOH, the government turned down the Court’s request to put the three farm laws on hold until its committee hears all parties. * Interestingly, Chief Justice Bobde specifically name-checked P Sainath—who is an authority on rural issues including poverty—as a potential member of the committee. * The government has an earnest letter to the farmers reiterating its offer. * Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, six farm leaders were asked personal bonds of Rs 50 lakh—which they will lose if they “incite” farmers to protest. The government says the amount is a clerical error—it should read Rs 50,000. Point to note: This is the same tactic used previously to bully Muslim leaders into ending the anti-CAA protests. * But it doesn’t appear to be working. Heads of all 15 khap panchayats in western Uttar Pradesh towards Delhi, collecting farmers in their wake. THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A QUICK UPDATE * The Indian government will have to on COVID-19 vaccines in the first phase to inoculate 300 million people. And this is with support from the WHO-led global vaccine-sharing scheme. Therefore, GAVI—an alliance of governments, drug companies, charities and international organisations—is recommending a donor-funded plan of $1.3 billion to secure 190-250 million doses. Or we could just skip that Central Vista project. * France's President Emmanuel Macron has , and will now self-isolate for seven days. * One health care worker at a Alaska hospital developed a severe to the Pfizer vaccine. Others have also experienced similar reactions, but this woman had no previous history of allergies—so it’s a bigger deal. * India has long had a problem with antimicrobial resistance—caused by the overuse of antibiotics. But the pandemic is : “All kinds of antibiotics are being prescribed left, right and centre… The problem of antimicrobial resistance is going to escalate post-Covid.” * A shows that pregnant women were excluded from three-quarters of Covid treatment trials. This is shocking since pregnant women are in far greater need of safe and effective therapies. Also this: “Strikingly, three-quarters of COVID-19 trials reviewed specifically excluded expectant mothers, even though they were investigating medications and vitamins that already have a relatively favourable safety profile during pregnancy, or that are already used in pregnant women.” 😡 * Indians are frantically googling vaccine-related information… to make a quick buck on the stock market. All crisis is opportunity. has this story. * The Pfizer vials are supposed to hold five doses, but pharmacists have found they have enough for a sixth or even a seventh dose. The extra bit is usually added by manufacturers to protect against spillage. But it will now be used to expand the US’ limited supply by ! * Children are feeling really anxious about the pandemic, and it’s showing up in their letters to Santa—which have been published by the US Postal service. See one heartbreaking below. PS: a number of these requests have been ‘adopted’ by secret donors. has more. THE FIRST PERSON TO DIE OF AIR POLLUTION… Is a 9-year-old in the UK. Back in 2013, she suffered an asthma attack, and subsequently suffered a cardiac arrest in the hospital. A London coroner announced the cause of her death this week: exposure to excessive amounts of air pollution. This landmark decision will make Ella Kissi-Debrah the first person in the world to have air pollution listed as the cause of death on her death certificate. () TRUMP’S TWITTER DRAMA No, this isn’t about one of the US president’s deranged tweets, but about his account— which was hacked back in October. The incident has been confirmed by Dutch authorities who say Victor Gevers—an “ethical hacker” broke into @realDonaldTrump by guessing the US president’s password. And that password was… ‘maga2020!’ The most likely new password: ‘stolenelection’. () Speaking of tech: Voice/video call option on WhatsApp’s Web is coming soon to your laptop. Hmm, is this Mark Zuckerberg’s attempt to kill Zoom? has more. New to Google India: You can now view search results in many more languages—including Tamil, Telugu, Bangla and Marathi. These results will show up even if you type in your query in English. FYI: We’re not sure how convenient this is. We already struggle to find relevant English-language news stories, and it doesn’t help when so many of the results are in Hindi. has more on Google’s plans to integrate regional language options into its range of products. New in the offline world: Ikea’s Navi Mumbai mega-store which opens today. The company will set up smaller establishment in the city centre next year. FYI: The 5.3 lakh square foot store offers the largest ever section for children in an Ikea store. () A BIG CRACKDOWN ON DELHI CALL CENTRES The police have arrested 54 employees of a call centre in Delhi. They are charged with defrauding more than 4,500 people of $14 million. According to the police: > “They disclosed that they would contact Americans in the US and other countries impersonating as officials from government > agencies such as the social security administration, the drug enforcement administration (DEA), and the US Marshal Service. They > would inform the targeted persons that their bank accounts and other assets are being frozen as their details have been found at > a crime scene.” And then blackmail them into transferring them money. has more. ASTONISHING RESEARCH ON BODY IMAGE New research shows that some smells make us feel thinner and lighter, while other smells do the opposite. And that’s because of how our brain responds to sensory stimulus: > “[L]emon is associated with thin silhouettes, spiky shapes and high-pitched sounds while vanilla is associated with thick > silhouettes, rounded shapes and low-pitched sounds. This could help account for the different body image perceptions when > exposed to a range of nasal stimuli." And this extends to sound as well. has more. CHINA REVEALS PLASTIC POLLUTION CHALLENGE China is the world's largest producer of plastic waste—and has introduced a series of bans on several types of non-degradable single-use plastics. As a result, Chinese factories have ramped up the production of biodegradable plastic, which has increased 12-fold in just 12 months. But now it faces a new problem: these plastics need specific treatment in order to break down, and China just doesn’t have enough facilities. Without them, these plastics do as much harm as the normal kind—ending up in landfills, rivers and oceans. Moral of this story: Simply switching the kind of plastic we use isn’t going to solve the problem. () MARTIAN AMBITIONS IN LADAKH Researchers are working to set up a Mars research station in the Tso-Kar region by middle of next year. Why Ladakh: The high altitude and extreme environment is similar to what existed on the red planet two billion years ago: “Tso-Kar is actually close to different types of Mars expedition sites, all within the distance of a few hours. These are hot springs, glaciers, permafrost and saline lakes." () THE ‘TANDAV’ TEASER IS HERE The stars Saif as an ambitious neta and is penned by Gaurav Solanki best known for ‘Article 15’. What caught our attention: the voiceover that declares: “Is desh mein jo pradhan mantri hai, wohi raja hai” (In this country, the prime minister is king). The Amazon Prime series drops January 15—unless, of course, some law student sues to stop it first. SANTA CLAUS PAYS AN UNWELCOME VISIT Cops dressed as Santa Claus and an elf to conduct a drug bust in Lima, Peru. It went down kinda like this:
Sanity Break #2
Auguste Toulmouche’s ‘’ depicts a reluctant bride captured in her wedding dress just as she is poised to enter an arranged marriage. Our alternative title: Nightmare of a Bharatiya Naari:) Bonus for fashion history buffs: Sandra Muniz’s engaging on the lavish gowns in this painting.
Weekend advisory
SO YOU WANT TO WATCH SOMETHING... Vir Das’ latest comedy special is out on Netflix, and describes it as the ‘best 50 minutes you’ll spend’. The show focuses on one burning question, ‘What’s the first thing you are going to do after the lockdown ends?’ Making it even funnier: It's a WFH production and includes flushing toilets and noisy relatives. : This adaptation of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize winning play follows blues legend Ma Rainey and her band’s adventures on an eventful afternoon—which includes a battle for music rights with her white producer. Added bonus: it marks Chadwick Boseman’s final on-screen appearance. and offer rave reviews. It drops on Netflix today. : Since we won’t be publishing on Christmas Day, here’s an early heads up. This juicy binge-watch from Shonda Rhimes—of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Scandal’ fame—is going to drop on Netflix on December 25. The trailer is very Downton Abbey meets Gossip Girl! FYI: If you’d like to prep in advance, the series is based on the enormously popular novels. A LIST OF GOOD READS * Best weekend reading: brilliant essay on Dr. Kamla Chowdhry who was the first faculty member of IIM Ahmedabad—and has since been reduced to a footnote by sexism and selective memory. * Do you feel frisky at night or first thing in the morning? dives into how gender and ‘chronotype’ determine when you are more likely to be in the mood for sex. * has a fascinating read on handmade pornography—the kind that people made for themselves—from carved sex toys to comic books. * lays out the latest trends in dating—and what to expect in 2021. * has an excellent essay on bad restaurant reviews—and the critics’ addiction to negativity. * argues Tom Cruise’s big Covid safety rant says more about his ego than his virtue. * Everyone is raving about Taylor Swift’s new album, but thinks she could use an editor. * Yes, there is such a thing as “toxic positivity” and it is on the rise. explains. * For a lighter end to a dreary year: Check out list of the 15 best comedy podcasts. * We learned a lot from piece on the phenomenal success of the world’s most popular board game Monopoly. * deep dive explains why Russia will dominate a world growing warmer due to climate change.
Feel Good Place
One: The rest of the world has discovered Bollywood gaanas and we are all far better for it. : : Two: There’s the real FisherPrice ‘’ playset. And then there is the one… Three: It’s the most of the year… Four: Modi-ji goes to Kutch—the .
